In an attempt to pitch Microsoft’s forthcoming Windows Phone 7 mobile operating system, the company’s CEO Steve Ballmer recently unveiled nine new handsets that will run the new OS.

According to Ballmer, five of these handsets will go on sale in the US in time for this year’s holiday season. While three of these five phones – The Samsung Focus, the HTC Surround, and the LG Quantum – will be sold by AT&T; the remaining two handsets - the HTC HD7 and Dell Venue Pro – will be available on T-Mobile USA network.

Noting that Microsoft has “a beautiful lineup in this first wave of Windows Phone 7 handsets,” Ballmer said that his company’s new operating system “makes everyday tasks faster by getting more done in fewer steps and providing timely information in a 'glance and go' format.”

The Windows Phone 7, which will be released in the US on November 8, has already been receiving rave reviews; and has been lauded for its slick design as well as integration with key Microsoft products, like Xbox Live, Zune, Bing and Microsoft Office Mobile.

However, to what extent the Windows Phone 7-based handsets will attract the users, is something that still remains to be seen; more so since most of the users of rival products – the iPhone, the BlackBerry, and the Android handsets – appear pretty happy with the phones they are currently using!